...And anything was better than spending another night in the house with her mother, who was still being all morose and guilty.
"Sure!" Jen declared, sounding perhaps a little-bit too enthusiastic, but if Sarah noticed, she was all-too willing to let it slide.
"Great!" she said, flashing Jen her perfect smile. "It's tomorrow night, my place." She gave her the adress. "Oh, and a word of advice; you might want to get some new clothes, something fun and girly. You're a cheerleader now, not a tomboy."
("Or any sort of boy," thought Jen).
**** *
"Well hellooo Jon!" exclaimed Karyn. "Or should I say 'Jen?'How goes your spiralling descent into bimbohood?"
"Look," said Jen. "This whole thing is hard enough for me without your sarcasm, and..."
"I'm just kidding. Cheerleading does not a bimbo make." She shrugged, and added "it HELPS, but..."
"Just because I like cheerleading doesn't mean that I'm suddenly an airhead. And how could I refuse? These people are going to be my teammates and I've got to get to know them. And whatever else has changed, I'm still me! I'm still your friend."
"I know," Karyn said. "I know. And if cheerleading is the thing for you, who am I to interfere. It's just that this whole transformation thing..."
"I know," Jen replied. "It's been hard for all of us. Thank God I put the stone somewhere safe; no one should ever have that kind of power. And I'm just trying to cope as well as I can, but..."
"Jon...Jen," she ammended. "I will always be your friend, no matter what. And if you want to wear a skirt and wave pom-poms around now that you're a girl, that's fine by me. But, as a friend, I'm going to ask you to be careful; you're new to being a girl, and I don't think that you understand all of the ins-and-outs of how we interract. And someone like Sarah... Jen, it's not a coincidence that she's the most popular girl in school. A girl like that is as power-hungry as any man, and if she's suddenly being nice, it's because she wants something."
"Yeah, she wanted a cheerleading trophy," Jen cut-in.
"Something else, Jen. If that was all she was after, she wouldn't bother with the sleepover. Don't trust her Jen. Be careful."
"I will," she promised, almost, but not quite, reassuring Karyn. "Now, I've got to buy a new-outfit for the sleep-over, and I don't know the first thing about shopping for girl's clothes, so will you help me?"
"Sure." said Karyn, though it was apparent that she was still worried.
